Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
March 2024
Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
March 2024
Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
March 2024
Key Takeaways
Table of contents
Year 2 is the second and final year of Key Stage 1 and throughout this stage, students will have been building essential skills and knowledge. Their work in this stage will serve as the foundation that the rest of their learning will be built on as they move through the rest of their school years!
The maths Year 2 national curriculum is made up of seven different areas, each with its own statutory requirements that learners need to know by the end of the year. It’s important that learners have a good grasp of these key concepts in order to be successful when they move on to Key Stage 2 next year.
Let’s take a closer look and break down exactly what the statutory requirements are and what our learners need to know by the end of Year 2!
The Year 2 maths curriculum can be broken down into seven main topic areas, four of which fall under the area of number:
The first four areas in the Year 2 maths curriculum fall under the broader area of number. In each of these areas, Year 2 students will be expected to work with numbers up to 100 to solve a range of different problems.
As in Year 1, students will still be working with numbers 0 to 100 but in Year 2 they’ll need to do a lot more with these numbers than they did last year! As Year 2 draws to a close, learners will be able to:
Year 2 will see students increase their use of mental and written methods of addition and subtraction, while still using physical materials to support them!
Learners will be taught how to add and subtract two-digit numbers and add up to three one-digit numbers too. Lots of practice in this area throughout the year will help them understand that addition calculations can be done in any order, while subtraction cannot.
As they learn more about multiplication and division, students will learn to use a range of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems including arrays, repeated addition, using concrete materials and other mental strategies.
By the end of Year 2, students will:
Measurement is a skill that as adults we still use in our daily lives so it’s an important topic to cover from an early age! As per the national curriculum, Year 2 maths learners will cover three main topics in this area; measure, money and time.
In line with the national curriculum, Year 2 maths students will cover some simple geometry, building on the work they completed last year in Year 1.
They’ll dive deeper into exploring the properties of 3-D and 3-D shapes. As learners finish year two Year 2 they’ll be able to:
Year 2 students will progress from Year 1 in their work on directions by describing turns as either clockwise or anti-clockwise. They’ll also be able to describe the link between a right angle and a quarter turn.
Another fun aspect of this topic that’s the perfect opportunity to let your learners get creative with is patterns and sequences. They can have fun as they identify patterns and continue simple sequences in the same style with different tiling activities.
Following the national curriculum maths Year 2 students will be introduced to statistics, which they didn’t cover in Year 1.
During this topic, they’ll get to grips with pictograms, tables, tally charts, and simply block diagrams and learn how to:
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Following the introduction of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) there is now no statutory requirement for children in Year 2 to be assessed!
Prior to 2024, students in Year 2 were required to sit SATs in May. Some schools may still choose to have their Year 2 students sit these tests, but they are now optional.
Class teachers will also continuously and informally assess students throughout the year using a range of formative assessment strategies. This allows teachers to ensure that their students have a good level of understanding and means that they can react and respond quickly if something isn’t clicking.
States that do not participate in the Common Core have established their own academic requirements. For instance, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the state standards for what Texas students should learn and be capable of performing in each subject and grade level. After receiving extensive input from educators and other stakeholders, the Texas State Board of Education creates and implements the TEKS standards.
A great way to help your Year 2 students with their maths is to practise skills like counting and problem solving on a daily basis to boost their confidence in these areas. You can try to link maths to their hobbies and interests by using their toys as physical materials to count or to arrange by size.
In addition to this, our maths app is an award-winning resource that kids just love! It has thousands of fun interactive exercises that are put together in a personalised programme for each user and it’s fully aligned with the Year 2 maths curriculum.
Knowing where to start with helping your learners as they go through the maths Year 2 national curriculum can be difficult. This list of 45 Year 2 maths questions is a fantastic way to give you a great overview of your learner’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure they’re on track as they prepare for Year 3!
Lesson credits
Mhairi Sim
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
Mhairi Sim
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
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